My Life, My Rules
by anonymous2002
Summary: 'As the clock struck 11:00, Lord Potter-Black allowed himself a smile. It was time.' One visit. New start. New sides. In the midst of the chaos following Voldemort's return, a new side will emerge. Too much of his life having been spent in the dark, Harry decides its time to take things into his own hands. After that one meeting, his life would change, he would make sure of that.


**Hey guys! So this is my first ever story on , or any website really, so go a little easy on me. I've mostly been reading Harry Potter fanfics, particularly those in which he becomes independent and takes control of his own life, etc., so i thought I'd right one myself. I'll try make it as original as can.**

 **Disclaimer:** **I'm not blonde, I'm not British, and i'm definitely not as good of a writer, so I am not J.K. Rowling. I own nothing but the plot, and a few original characters.**

Chapter 1: Of Heirs and Wills

The Gringotts Bank, located in Diagon Alley, London, was considered to be one of the securest places in Great Britain, first only to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Adorned with graceful pillars of pallid stone, the magnificent structure towered over the other buildings, its polished white marble a high contrast to the otherwise vibrant alley.

Run by goblins, as cunning a race as their ever was, (not to mention greedy and vicious) the bank housed the fortune of hundreds of families, complete with an underground rollercoaster, dragons and various other nasty and undoubtedly dangerous traps. As it was, Ragnor Graymark, supervisor of all the deep-rooted and wealthiest of families' opulence, sat behind his gleaming mahogany desk. Said desk was plied with stacks of paperwork that was arranged carefully in the corner. Despite the workload, Graymark's gaze remained unconcerned, his posture relaxed as he leaned back in his chair, waiting for his latest client. Normally, Graymark would have left his assistant to deal with the clients, but this particular case had him intrigued and he had therefore decided to address it personally. While this was a rarity, it was not entirely uncommon.

The festering silence was broken by the smallest of pops and the thudding of feet. Straightening suddenly, Graymark's now sharp gaze rested on the young man bent double in his office. As the individual composed himself, emerald green eyes peered at him between strands of messy black hair. Graymark studied him, his eyes roving over the mop of hair where he knew the legendary scar to be.

'Mr. Potter,' he said, 'Take a seat.'

Harry, finally recovered from the heinous trip by the portkey, gave a respectful nod and sat himself on the straight-backed chair. 'Thank you…Director Graymark,' he replied, looking over at the nametag.

'I assume traveling by portkey does not suite you?' Graymark raised an eyebrow. His black eyes indicated that he was not particularly interested, but had asked for the sake of small talk.

Harry smiled ruefully, 'No, sir.' He was a tad nervous, as he knew how easily goblins could be offended.

'Do you know why you are here, Mr. Potter?'

Harry frowned. 'Well, the letter said that I was sent a missive informing me of the will reading o-of Sirius Black, asking me to respond in a day, but that I had never responded.'

'And?' Graymark prodded.

'The problem is,' Harry replied, 'I never received such a letter.' And he hadn't. Most of the letters he received had been from his friends, telling him not to blame himself for Sirius' death and warning him not retreat into himself. Thinking about them brought forth a flash of anger and sadness. He pushed it to the back of his mind and focused on the present.

Graymark regarded him for a moment, and then spoke. 'Tell me, Mr. Potter, have you been getting your monthly statements?'

Bewildered, Harry asked, 'Monthly statements?'

'I see.' There was a flicker of anger in the goblin's eyes. Graymark ruffled through a drawer and took out a few sheets of parchment. 'It seems to me that your mail is being searched,' he said.

'Searched?' Harry repeated, shocked and wary.

'Yes, Mr. Potter searched. Can you think of anyone who could be behind this?'

'Well…' Harry hesitated. He did suspect someone, but he wasn't sure. _Even_ he _wouldn't go that far,_ he thought. But Harry knew he was only lying to himself. After everything that had happened at the end of last year, Harry wouldn't put it past Dumbledore to go looking through his mail. Graymark raised an eyebrow.

'I think Albus Dumbledore might have done it.' A scowl came over Graymark's face.

'Ah yes. Albus Dumbledore,' the goblin growled. Seeing Harry's surprised look, Graymark explained further. 'We do not have many problems with Dumbledore, but he can be too nosy for our liking. He has always been particularly interested in you. He tried to take control over your family vault once, but gave up when he saw that we would not move. Moreover, he aimed to make us prevent several people to come to the aforementioned will reading, including you. He also seems to think that he knows best.'

'Can he be stopped?' Harry asked.

'Yes actually, he can.' Graymark opened a drawer and took out two intricately carved boxes. 'This box has only just been made available. Its purpose is to provide a way to communicate between long distances, as owls can only travel too far. One of these boxes is kept with your account manager, while the other you keep with yourself. Anything I put in here will be magically transported to your own box, thus making the use of owls unnecessary. It is also completely safe, as only the people who have been keyed in can open it. For example,' Graymark took one of the sheets of parchment from the pile he had pulled out and placed it in an envelope, 'This is the copy of the letter that was sent to you.' He placed the copy in the box and closed the lid. Graymark took out a pocket knife, and motioned to Harry's hand.

'I will give you a small prick; you have to let a drop of blood fall in the circle in the middle of the box.' Harry did just that, and as he watched, his blood was absorbed and the wood changed to form the Potter family crest. Graymark told him to open his box.

He did.

And sure enough, there was an envelope sitting there, addressed to Number 4, Privet Drive.

'The will reading is tomorrow, at ten o' clock. Considering Dumbledore's actions, I will assume that you have no means of getting here?'

Harry shook his head.

Graymark took out a pen and handed it to Harry. 'This pen is a portkey that has been set to activate at 9:50 am, ten minutes before the reading. It will transport you to my office, from where I will escort you to the location of the reading. Make sure you have it on hand when it is time for it to activate.'

Harry took the portkey and placed it in his jacket. 'Thank you, Director Graymark.'

Ragnor nodded. 'Now that that's out of the way, let's get down to business. Now, concerning your trust vault; currently there are 44,465 galleons in your trust account. Originally there were 50,000 galleons, from which 5,000 were withdrawn for your Hogwarts monthly fee, as they are every month you attend. An extra 5, 35 galleons were withdrawn on October 27th, 1994 which I can only assume were for your school supplies. Every time a transaction is made, all the taken galleons are replaced for the exact amount withdrawn by your family vault at the start of each year, to keep the amount in the trust vault up to 50,000 galleons.'

'Wait, family vault? I thought I only had the trust vault.'

'Dumbledore did not even tell you about your family vault?' Graymark growled.

'No.' Harry replied.

'The family vault, as in the Potters', contains all the money and other items ever owned by any Potter. Your trust account was set aside by your parents to provide for your school supplies and other necessities until you come of age. That is when you will be granted access to your family vault.'

Harry was stunned. 'You mean the money in my trust account-there's more?'

Graymark smiled wryly, 'Mr. Potter, the money in your trust account is not even half of it.'

Harry sat back in his chair, completely shocked. 'Merlin,' he breathed.

Graymark gave the boy a moment to collect himself, and then he continued. 'Mr. Potter, there is one other matter we need to discuss.'

Harry brought himself back to the present, and focused on Graymark.

'In his will, Sirius Black declared you an adult at the age of fifteen, and made you the Black family's head. Now, due to the first declaration, you will also automatically gain the title of Lord Potter, as the Potter family's head of house. This also means that you can use your family vault if you wish to. As you turned sixteen two days ago, I think we can say that this conversation is long overdue.'

Harry was a little dazed at the moment, but he managed to compose himself. 'Does that mean that I can use magic now?'

'After we have finished the process of making you an heir, officially declaring you an adult, yes you will.'

Now Harry was starting to feel excited. He could finally do magic now. 'When do we start?'

Graymark gave a toothy smile.


End file.
